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Taplow Green Pond
The poor state of Taplow Village Green has been the cause of some concern recently. Successive very dry summers and the patter of many tiny feet left their legacy on the thin layer of topsoil, with large bare patches appearing and weeds taking over the grass that remained. A new mowing and feeding regime, instituted this year by the Parish Council, has gone a long way to improving matters, and this summer’s appallingly wet weather did much to restore the Green to its full glory. However, the exceptional rainfall also brought a new problem to the surface – literally – as a stream of water suddenly appeared, threatening to flood the threshold of the Village Centre, and turning part of the eastern side of the Green into a swamp.
With no clues as to the source of the water (and fearing the worst), Taplow Parish Council were forced to fence off the affected section whilst investigations were carried out. Tests for sewage contamination proved negative and further analysis showed that it was fresh, clear groundwater – so leaks from Thames Water’s pipework could be ruled out. The evidence suggested that the most likely culprit was likely to be one of the many springs that rise on the high ground behind Taplow Village and meander, unseen, down the hillside, occasionally appearing to form boggy patches in gardens and permanent streams down tarmacked roads, even in the dryest weather.
There is, however, another, less well-known, factor that is probably contributing to the problem: a large pond once existed at the top of the Green, roughly halfway between the barns at the top of the Green and Old Cottage. It is clearly marked on the Ordnance Survey map of 1875. When the school was moved to its present site, in the early 70s, the pond was drained and the springs that fed it were ducted into a series of underground conduits designed to disperse the water into a soakaway under the Green. Unfortunately, it appears that the deep band of clay that sits beneath the Green meant that this soakaway would never operate properly.
For many years, this did not cause a problem. But over time, most of the land that once surrounded the pond was built over. The school expanded and more buildings were put up; at the same time, the car park was built and a new approach road put in; later, School House and the Reading Room were both extended, and with each addition, the permeable land was reduced and the run-off increased. The heavy rains of last autumn were the final straw: the whole system became overwhelmed by the sheer volume of water.
Taplow Parish Council were hoping for a dry summer, in order to observe what would happen under different conditions, but this was not to be. They are now considering installing a French drain – a trench, filled with gravel, to act as a soakaway – but it is feared that this may not provide sufficient drainage, given the thickness of the clay layer in the sub-soil.
The present situation is more of a nuisance than a danger; but more than one person has had to attend a church service with feet soaked to the ankles, having strayed into the boggy ground while walking from the car park to the lych gate. Until a solution is found, the barriers look set to stay.
Gill Holloway
See the web forum article about the pond for more information.